Triangle Capital Corporation Declares Cash Dividend of $0.41 Per Share

Triangle Capital Corporation, a leading specialty finance company that provides customized financing solutions to lower middle market companies located throughout the United States, today announced that its board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.41 per share. This is the Company’s eleventh consecutive quarterly dividend since its initial public offering in February, 2007, and reflects a 2.5% increase over the second quarter of 2009 and a 7.9% increase over the third quarter of 2008.

The Company’s dividend will be payable as follows:

Record Date: October 8, 2009
Payment Date: October 22, 2009

Disclosure I am long TCAP shares, curently up ytd 13.92% not including dividends of 0.85 cents a share so far this year.

McDonald’s (MCD) Approves Increase in Quarterly Dividend

McDonald’s (MCD) is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 32,000 local restaurants in more than 100 countries. Thursday, the company raised its quarterly dividend 10% to $0.55/share. The dividend is payable on December 15, 2009 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 1, 2009.

MCD’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Skinner said, “So far in 2009 we’ve returned nearly $4.0 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, bringing total cash returned since the beginning of 2007 to about $15.5 billion. With today’s dividend increase, we expect to end the year near the high end of our three-year, $15 billion to $17 billion total cash return target.”

Disclosure I will be selling my holding in KFT and using the cash to purchase MCD shares market open Monday.

DHT Maritime Inc. Not To Declare Dividend For Second Quarter Of 2009

DHT Maritime Inc. announced that the Board of Directors has decided not to declare any dividend for the second quarter of 2009.

Therefore DHT no longer meets my demand for payment from my holdings. I will be selling my holding on Monday. I will no longer speak of DHT unless a decent payout dividend record is reestablished.

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. Announces 3rd Quarter Dividend of $0.69 Per Share

he Board of Directors of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) declared the third quarter 2009 common stock cash dividend of $0.69 per common share. This dividend is payable October 29, 2009 to common shareholders of record on October 1, 2009. The ex-dividend date is September 29, 2009.

“We continue to manage Annaly conservatively in the current environment. Looking ahead, I believe that we are well-prepared for the opportunities that will present themselves as government policy in our markets continues to evolve,” said Michael A.J. Farrell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Company distributes dividends based on its current estimate of taxable earnings per common share, not GAAP earnings. Taxable and GAAP earnings will differ because of non-taxable unrealized and realized losses, differences in premium amortization, and non-deductible general and administrative expenses.

Dividends may be reinvested through Annaly’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan. Plan information may be obtained from the Plan Administrator, Mellon Investor Services at 1-800-301-5234, at www.annaly.com, or by contacting the Company.

Annaly manages assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors worldwide. The Company’s principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to investors from its investment securities and from dividends it receives from its subsidiaries. Annaly is a Maryland corporation that has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), and currently has 552,762,229 shares of common stock outstanding.

Disclosure I am long NLY shares.

5 bank failures bring 2009 tally to 89

Five banks in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Arizona were closed by regulators Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures in 2009 to 89 as the effects of the credit crisis continue to ripple through the financial system.

Two suburban Chicago banks failed in Illinois, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said:

InBank, the 14th bank to fail in Illinois this year, had $199 million in deposits as of Aug. 3, the agency said. Chicago-based MB Financial Bank has agreed to assume its deposits. InBank’s failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $66 million.

Platinum Bank of Rolling Meadows was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. As of Aug. 29, the bank had total assets of $345.6 million and deposits of $305 million, the FDIC said. The FDIC authorized payout of insured deposits and estimated the cost to its Deposit Insurance Fund will be $114.3 million. MB Financial Bank will accept the failed bank’s direct deposits from the federal government.

Kansas City, Mo.-based First Bank of Kansas City also was closed by regulators. The FDIC said. De Soto, Kan.-based Great American Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank’s deposits. First Bank of Kansas City had $16 million in assets and $15 million in deposits as of June 30, the regulator said. Its failure is expected to cost the federal deposit-insurance fund $6 million. First Bank of Kansas City is the second Missouri-based bank to fail this year, the FDIC added.

Sioux City, Iowa-based Vantus Bank and Oak Forest, Ill.-based InBank also were closed. Vantus Bank had roughly $368 million in deposits as of Aug. 28, the FDIC said, and Springfield, Mo.-based Great Southern Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank’s deposits. The failure of Vantus Bank will cost the deposit insurance fund $168 million. It’s the first bank to fail in Iowa this year, according to the FDIC.

In Arizona, First State Bank in Flagstaff was closed and Sunwest Bank of Tustin, Calif., will assume all of its deposits, the FDIC said. As of July 24, First State had total assets of $105 million and total deposits of about $95 million, the FDIC said. The failure will cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $47 million, the FDIC said.

Disclosure NONE.

7 ‘Great Recession’ Lessons for ETF Investors

Has the U.S. economy hit bottom or not? It’s too early to tell. But the markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs) are moving up, the jobless rate is improving, government programs have boosted the housing and auto markets. As things are under repair, it’s always worth looking back to see where we can learn some lessons.

Phillip Moeller for Smart Money reports that there are six major lessons to be learned from this recession:

* The experts are not the end all, be all. The trust in financial institutions and leaders will not be restored for some time. All of the kind words from banks, brokerages and real estate companies didn’t amount to much when crunch time arrived. Make sure to protect yourself with an entry and exit strategy, instead of relying on the predictions of others.

* Learn how to budget, and live within it. Make a household budget and watch where your money is going. This is a good way to get a handle on spending and to help downsize if need be.

* Learn how to negotiate. Make sure that you do not have to pay full price. For most products and services, including home improvement, the consumer is in the drivers seat.

* Actively manage your own investments. As you may have learned from the past market meltdown, buy-and-hold isn’t foolproof. Passive investing is the way of the past. To brush up on your trend following skills, educate yourself. The ETF Trend Following Playbook is a simple and effective place to begin.

* Forget about housing wealth. Even a few years of solid increases in home values could bring on mass amnesia. Do not depend upon housing wealth for a retirement or even appreciation. Housing gains are only a cushion, nothing more.

* Stay healthy, both mentally and physically. People who exercise feel better and think better. Remember that exercise is free and bad health can cost you a small fortune.

* To this we’d add: Brush Up. Brush up on what you need to know to be successful in the markets. If you’ve taken a beating, dust yourself off, pull yourself up by the bootstraps and examine where you are now, your strategy, how you’re feeling and what you can do to improve. Looking inward can only benefit you.

Disclosure I am long many ETF’s

Is China the Key to Stock ETFs in September?

When mainland Chinese stocks drop 5% or more on a given day, world markets take notice. Similarly, when China ETFs or Chinese stock markets fall 20% from their highs, investors start to get nervous.

Nevertheless, when it comes to the future’s most dominant economic force, “green shoots” can bloom in any season. During the precarious pullback in June, the iShares China 25 Index (FXI) found support at the 50-day moving average before rocketing higher yet again.

Still, we’re about to see the first breakdown of technical support since March… when the 6-month, world stock rally began. With FXI falling roughly 1.2% on Monday, August 31, 2009, the popular benchmark breached the short-term, 50-day moving average.

Ditto for SPDR S&P China (GXC) and PowerShares Golden Dragon China (PGJ). Again, we haven’t seen the China ETFs below 50-day trendlines since March… when they were moving the other direction!

Should we even be concerned that the Shanghai Composite over on the mainland is down 20%… or that it has fallen below a longer-term 125-day support line? I think we may need to perk up!

Consider the following reality: The 6-month cyclical bull for worldwide stock assets began in China. Its stimulus package focused 75% of its $550 billion directly on infrastructure, which required a host of natural resources from iron ore to nickel. China went on to purchase resources and companies in countries from Brazil to Australia, and the re-inflation of the global industrial cycle seemed to begin anew.

It follows that we must consider the impact of falling equity prices in China. Would the rest of the world really have investor confidence were it not for China, Southeast Asia and expectations for emerging market growth?

It’s fine to celebrate the 6 consecutive months of gains for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. What’s more, we may decide that a 1% Monday selloff from recent highs is “no big deal.”

However, I myself am particularly wary of developed market ETFs after an unprecedented winning streak. Not only should we expect a correction, but we may need to see conviction on the part of emerging market investors (a la “buying the dips”). Meanwhile, keep a firm handle on your stop-loss protection.

Hey… it’s a different world out there. It used to be whatever happens in the U.S. markets, the rest of the world had to take notice. Today, whatever happens in China… the U.S./Europe need to take notice.

Disclosure I am long FXI shares.